Born To Be Sacrificed
by Caramel Cherub
Summary: Harry and Hermione visit Ron in Ottery St Catchpole. They meet Luna, who has recently learned a terrible secret about herself.
1. Stop The Press!

**Disclaimer: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's note: **J.K. Rowling has stated in an interview that Voldemort doesn't have any children. This story is an AU in which he has a child.

**Chapter 1 - Stop The Press!**

_Dearest daughter,_

_The fact that you are reading this letter means that I have died before I had a chance of telling you something extremely important. I hope that the Fates will have mercy and allow me to be with you as you grow up. However, in case I'm not so fortunate, I'm writing this letter and trusting my beloved husband, Theodosius Lovegood, to keep it safe until your fifteenth birthday. _

_Please forgive me, dear Luna, for what I'm about to tell you. You will feel angry at first, but I beg you to read the letter to the end before judging me._

_What I have to tell you is this: Theodosius Lovegood isn't your real father. That is, he is not your father in the flesh-and-blood meaning of the word, but he is a parent to you in a much more important sense. He is the father of your soul and spirit, the one who took care of you and gave you the love your real father never would have given you. Promise me you will always remember that._

Hesitant footsteps could be heard approaching the door to number four, Privet Drive. There were a few moments of silence, as if the person standing outside was unable to locate the doorbell. The truth was, actually, that the person standing outside the door had no idea how to use a doorbell. After a while he hesitantly knocked on the door.

Petunia Dursley was the one who opened the door. When she saw who was standing outside she just froze, her face pale, with an expression of fear mixed with anger. Her husband, who was watching her from the dining room, saw that something was wrong and rushed to her side.

Seeing who was standing outside, Vernon understood his wife's reaction. One of those four freaks from Potter's world who had had the nerve of threatening them at King's Cross station was now standing before their front door, smiling politely. That was not the first time Vernon and Petunia had met him: he was the one who had destroyed their fireplace two years before, telling them some bloody nonsense about connecting their house to a network.

Vernon's blood began to boil, but he had learned enough about the harm those freaks could do to decent people. Restraining himself, he just asked through gritted teeth:

"Yes?"

"Good afternoon, Mr Dursley," Arthur Weasley said in a pleasant voice. "I would like a word with Harry, if you don't mind."

Vernon did mind, but he knew he had no choice. He had to allow this person to talk to Potter, but he'd be damned if he was going to invite him to come inside. Turning his back to Mr Weasley, Vernon yelled:

"Potter! You have a visitor!"

Harry Potter heard the sound of the doorbell from downstairs, but didn't pay any attention to it. He wasn't taking much notice of what was happening around him since he had returned from Hogwarts to the Dursleys' home. Nothing could make him feel better, but nothing could possibly make him feel worse either.

The Dursleys, scared of Mad Eye Moody and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix who had threatened them at King's Cross station, were more or less leaving Harry alone. That suited him. He would spend almost all the time in his room, holding an open schoolbook in his hands but not really reading it. Ron, Hermione and Hagrid were sending him letters full of concern, begging him to write back. He didn't; he would merely glance at the letters and add them to a pile beside his bed. He pretended not to care about them, though a very small part of him admitted he would be devastated if the letters stopped arriving.

Hearing uncle Vernon calling him, Harry reached for his wand and held it firmly. He didn't exactly believe a Death Eater would just knock on the door and ask to see him, but he didn't want to take any chances. He opened the door and softly, on the tips of his toes, walked to the top of the stairs.

Harry took a cautious look downstairs and was relieved to see Arthur Weasley standing outside. He rushed down the stairs and past his angry-looking uncle, who didn't move away - he obviously wanted to hear what they were going to talk about.

Mr Weasley had a solemn look on his face.

"Hello, Harry. Er... I have to ask you to come to the Ministry with me." He was speaking slowly, carefully choosing his words. "There is a legal matter that has to be solved."

"The Ministry?" Harry said in an irritated voice. "Can't they leave me alone? What are they accusing me of this time?"

"No, Harry, it's not that," Mr Weasley said and sighed. "It's about Sirius's will."

_I was nineteen years old when I met your flesh-and-blood father. It happened on a summer day, at the seaside, and it seemed to me at the time to be a chance meeting. Looking back at it now I know it couldn't have been. I'm sure he had chosen me beforehand, probably from after considering many young women from pureblood families. My ancestors are known to be pureblood at least as far as six centuries ago, and I was healthy enough for his purpose, and young enough to be extremely naive._

_You see, dear Luna, I was a very pretty girl, and several man had been hopelessly in love with me by that time. I simply assumed, with an arrogance many handsome people have, that that was what my life would always be like and that I deserved it. But He - I will not call him by his name yet - He didn't seem to be so very love-struck. He courted me in a polite way, but seemed to be cold and distant. I felt offended by that, and wanted to conquer him like I did the others. How arrogant and foolish of me! _

Luna Lovegood sat at a desk in the part of her home she and her father called "the office". She was surrounded by pieces of parchment containing short notes such as _Make appointment for interview with goblin guerrilla leader!_ and _Minister Fudge has a Siamese twin? Investigate!_ She had a quill in her hand but she wasn't writing - just playing with it absentmindedly. Her large eyes were surrounded by dark circles: she had probably lost a lot of sleep lately, and had possibly been crying, too.

Her hand was resting on a piece of parchment that looked older than the others. The text began with the words _Dearest daughter_. The ink was a bit smudged at the sides of the parchment, showing that it had been held in someone's hands and read many times.

At the opposite side of the office a small printing-press was turning by itself. Little elves wearing green robes were moving swiftly, feeding pieces of paper into the press and folding the newspaper pages that came out of it.

Suddenly Luna's father rushed into the office and cried:

"Stop the press!"

One of the elves raised his hand and the press stopped turning.

"What is it, Dad?" Luna asked softly, folding the old piece of parchment and putting it away into her robe pocket. The elves looked at Mr Lovegood in expectation.

"I just received a sensational letter," Luna's father said in a very excited voice. "It's from an old lady in Basingstoke. She says Merlin is alive! She saw him buying Brussels sprouts at the market in Basingstoke."

"Wonderful!" Luna said and handed her father an empty piece of parchment and her quill. The elves gathered around the desk, and Luna's father started thinking aloud.

"This needs a good title. Let's see... _Merlin Seen Alive In Brussels_... Wait, that's not right... _Merlin Seen Alive In Basingstoke_?"

"_Merlin Spotted Shopping At The Market_?" Luna suggested.

"_Merlin Alive And On A Healthy Diet_?" said an elf. Soon they were all deeply immersed in the new article and Luna was able to take the letter she had been reading off her mind. She was grateful for that, especially because she was doing something to help her Dad - the only real Dad for her.


	2. The New Face Of The Ministry

**Author's note:**

Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far.

****

**Chapter 2 - The New Face Of The Ministry**

****

_When I first saw Him he appeared to be a handsome man around thirty, with ash-blonde hair and a tanned face. I now know that it wasn't his real appearance. His true form was disgusting, frightening, un-human. The good-looking man I saw was the result of Polyjuice Potion, and I don't like to imagine what He did to the person whose looks he stole._

_He had very little charm and much less warmth, but he made me fall for him so frighteningly easily. I had this thrilling sense of danger when I was around him, a strange feeling that inside his soul was a bottomless black hole. It turned out that my instinct was right. My reaction was, however, completely wrong. I ought to have run away from him instantly. Instead I hoped that he would change because of me. Isn't that the story of every foolish girl in love since the beginning of time?_

Harry and Mr Weasley walked quickly to Mrs Figg's house, where they would use the fireplace to get to the Ministry through the Floo network. To Harry's surprise, Mr Weasley nodded to a curly-haired middle aged woman who passed them by. Harry had never seen her before.

"It's Tonks," Arthur Weasley explained. "Mundungus is also here, wearing his invisibility cloak, and a few Aurors from the Ministry are nearby too. You are not safe outside your home, so we have to be very cautious.

Arabella Figg greeted them warmly and wanted to offer them some tea and scones, but Mr Weasley politely refused, saying they were in a hurry. That suited Harry. Knowing he was about to hear Sirius's will gave him a gloomy, heavy feeling and he wanted everything to be over as quickly as possible.

Mr Weasley threw some Floo powder into Mrs Figg's fireplace and instructed Harry to step through and say: "Ministry of Magic". Harry obliged and found himself in the long hall lined with gilded fireplaces he knew very well. To his left was the Fountain of Magical Brethren. It had obviously been repaired, hastily and rather badly, since the duel that took place there not long ago.

Arthur Weasley appeared out of the fireplace immediately after Harry and hastily led him towards the smaller hall with the lifts. The halls were crowded with wizards and witches walking quickly, with serious looks on their faces. Some of them noticed Harry and smiled to him or whispered to others excitedly. He was a hero once again, now that he didn't feel like one at all.

The lift took them to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement on Level Two. As soon as he stepped out into the corridor, Harry spotted something that certainly hadn't been there before: a large, golden sign saying _Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix_.

Seeing the surprised look on Harry's face, Mr Weasley said: "Many things have changed, Harry. The Order is legal once again, just like it was during the First War."

There were other signs of change, too. Posters with messages like _You-Know-Who is back!_ or _Constant Vigilance!_ were hanged on the walls. Harry suspected that Mad-Eye Moody might have had something to do with the wording of these posters.

Harry noticed another strange thing: in addition to the usual sounds of people talking and memos shaped like paper aeroplanes zooming by, he could hear a noise, distant but strong, that sounded like many angry voices screaming at once.

"It's from Fudge's private office," Mr Weasley explained when Harry asked him about the noise. "He keeps getting Howlers from all over the country. People are understandably angry about him suppressing the news of You-Know-Who's return. Can't say I'm sorry for the chap."

Seeing the Ministry building, which brought back so many unpleasant memories, had made Harry feel even more miserable than before. But he smiled a little bit when he heard about Fudge's Howlers, and he realised something: in spite of all the sad memories, it felt good to be among fellow wizards and witches again. Yes, it felt good even if they kept staring at his scar and looking at him as if they expected him to defeat Voldemort any moment now. However irritating that was, at least they understood the danger the world was in.

Arthur Weasley didn't take him to the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters. He lead the way to a door at the other side of the corridor, which didn't seem to be that busy. A small sign on the door said: _Inheritance and Family Law Office_.

Before they entered the office, Mr Weasley turned to Harry and said quietly:

"There is something I have to explain before the reading starts. You see, wills aren't usually read here at the Ministry - a lawyer's or notary's office is more usual, or simply the home of the beneficiaries. But this is a special case - Sirius was only recently cleared of the criminal charges against him. He was in hiding when he wrote his will. Besides, the Order of the Phoenix is one of the beneficiaries, making this case important for the Ministry."

Harry nodded. He had no idea what the usual procedures for the reading of a will were among wizards, so it didn't really make a difference to him.

"Besides a Ministry official and Sirius's lawyer, Dumbledore is in there as the head of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Dumbledore is in there?" The thought made Harry uneasy.

"Yes. You are the only other beneficiary, so no one else's presence is required. I don't have to go inside if you don't want me to."

"No, please, go inside with me," Harry said nervously. He wasn't happy about meeting Dumbledore so soon after their troubled last conversation at Hogwarts.

"Very well," said Mr Weasley and opened the door.

_I understood only much later what His motives were for courting me - if "courting" is a word I can use in the circumstances. I will not explain it yet. I'm trying to make this revelation as slow and gradual as possible. Let me just say this:_

_He never loved me, I'm completely sure about that. He never felt anything even remotely resembling love. Not even lust. These are human feelings, and his nature wasn't human. _

_However, it was a matter of greatest importance for him that I should love him. He would ask me whether I loved him and I would reply that I did, with great passion and enthusiasm. And I hoped, every time, that he would express his love in turn. He never did._

_He would just stare firmly into my eyes, as if trying to read my mind. Then, when he was certain I had told the truth, a satisfied expression would appear on his face. I liked to believe that he had emotions after all, that he felt touched by my love. What a foolish idea. He was merely establishing a fact. As I understood later, it was essential for his plans that I fall in love with him._

_I mentioned him staring into my eyes and trying to read my mind. Some women, when fantasising about an ideal lover, describe him as "able to read their every thought". Well, I have learned what it's like to have a lover who can read my every thought. _

_It's worse than any nightmare._

****

In the Lovegoods' office, the pages of the final version of the new "Quibbler" were falling out of the printing press. Luna, her father and the elves were folding the pages, assembling them in the right order and rolling them into scrolls. Then Mr Lovegood took an address book with the names and addresses of all their subscribers and started copying them onto the scrolls. Luna went outside and whistled softy.

Their home was on a clearing in the forest. The only sign of civilisation was an abandoned Muggle railway track, which served as a path leading to their house. The Lovegoods rarely had visitors, though. They didn't trust that many people, Muggle or wizard alike.

Shortly after Luna whistled, a brown owl flew from one of the trees nearby and landed on her arm.

"Take this to the post office as usual, Daphne," she said. She tied some money and a piece of parchment to the owl's leg. On the parchment she had written:

_Please send as many postal owls as possible to The Quibbler editor's office._

_Thank you_

_L. Lovegood_

Meanwhile, the elves lined up in front of Mr Lovegood to receive that day's wages. Taking their coins, they went off into the forest, waving merrily to Luna. Members of the Syndicate of Free Elves were ideal employees for the Lovegoods, who weren't very rich. The free elves, unlike house-elves, demanded payment for their work. However, they never demanded much because they lived in the forest and rarely actually used the money. Being paid was more a matter of pride than of necessity to them.

After a while something resembling a small cloud could be seen flying over the forest towards the Lovegoods' home. When the cloud came closer it became clear what it was: twenty or more owls, of various colours and sizes. They landed on the grass around Luna and waited patiently for her to tie the copies of the magazine to their legs.

Luna sighed. That day's work would soon be over and she would be left alone with her thoughts - and her thoughts were, ever since her fifteenth birthday, mostly about her mother's letter.


	3. The Will

**Author's note: **Once again, many thanks to all my reviewers. A. Troll, I'm glad Moody's posters reminded you of the Uncle Sam posters from WWII, because I had them in mind when I was writing about the posters in the Ministry. At first I wanted them to be more obviously like the Uncle Sam posters, with a pointing figure, but I couldn't decide on a figure from the wizard world that would be the equivalent of Uncle Sam.

**Chapter 3 - The Will**

_Not long after I first met Him I was very much in love. I didn't tell many people about this. I may have mentioned him to some friends, but after I'd left Hogwarts I didn't see them very often and wasn't as close to them as before._

_As for my family, they had already left Britain at the time so there were not there to warn me not to be foolish. Of course, even if they had been able to warn me, I probably wouldn't have listened._

_Since you will probably never meet your grandparents from my side, I should explain to you the reasons for their leaving Britain. My parents both came from proud pureblood families. Like so many purebloods, they distrusted Muggles and believed they were inferior to magical folk. They taught me to avoid Muggles and keep the wizard world secret from them, but they also taught me never to use my advantage of magic to harm Muggles._

_When the Dark Lord's rise to power began, they believed it to be a good thing at first. They thought he was going to restore a lost dignity to pureblood wizards. However, soon they learned about the murders and tortures committed by him and his followers, and they were disgusted._

_However, they didn't like the opposing side either. Dumbledore was the Dark Lord's strongest opponent, and they believed he was undignified and a disgrace to the wizard world. To avoid being forced to make a decision, they bought a house in the south of France and moved there as soon as I finished my last year at Hogwarts. They wanted me to move there with them immediately. I told them I would follow them eventually, but I wanted to spend some more time in Britain first._

_I thought it was going to be the best year of my life. I was young, pretty, free from the influence of my parents but with enough of their money to be able to live comfortably. I knew that the Dark Lord and his followers were dangerous, but I was a pureblood and I thought I had no reason to worry. I was just going to live my life and ignore the fact that he existed._

_As I was about to learn, the Fates have a cruel sense of irony._

--

Harry entered the room with a sense of unease - a year ago, Arthur Weasley had led him to another room in the Ministry to attend his disciplinary hearing for breaking the International Statute of secrecy. Although he wasn't guilty of anything this time, the situation seemed unnervingly similar.

However, the setting was completely different this time. Instead of the large, imposing courtroom his hearing had been held in, he found himself in a simple office panelled with wood. Three people were sitting together at a large oak table and talking; the atmosphere seemed to be quite relaxed. One of the three people was Dumbledore, and Harry realised he was, despite everything that had happened, glad to see him.

One of the other two people was a thin elderly woman, who beamed at Harry.

"Ah, you must be Harry Potter! Please, sit down. Nice to see you, Arthur. We can begin immediately if everyone is ready."

Harry and Mr Weasley took their places at the table. Dumbledore looked at Harry over his half-moon glasses; there was a kind expression in his blue eyes, but he was not smiling. He must have guessed that Harry wouldn't like anyone to behave too happily on this occasion.

"Harry, I would like you to meet Elspeth Limmeridge, who will represent the Ministry in this reading. And this -"he nodded towards the third person, a solemn-looking man with curly grey hair "- is Tobias Grimwig, the law-wizard who was entrusted with Sirius's will."

"How do you do," Harry said politely but a bit too fast, looking somewhere between Mrs Limmeridge and Mr Grimwig. He knew that hearing words written by Sirius, even if it was an impersonal legal document, was going to be painful.

"Let us begin!" Mrs Limmeridge said in a business-like voice, opening a large book with yellowing pages that lay in front of her and taking a quill in her hand.

"The twenty-fifth of July, nineteen-ninety-six," she said aloud while writing the date on a clear page of the book, in a flourishing handwriting. "The reading of the last will and testament of the late Sirius Black" She proceeded to list the people present and then said:

"Please, read the will now, Mr Grimwig."

The grey-haired wizard pulled his wand out of his robe pocket and pointed it at a sealed scroll of parchment lying on the table. He said:

"_Signum frangeo_!"

The seal broke and the law-wizard unrolled the piece of parchment. He began to read, in a very grave and formal manner:

"_I, Sirius Erasmus Black,_

_request that my belongings be, in the event of my death, distributed as follows: _

_What remains of my family's collection of Dark magical objects, to be given to the Order of the Phoenix to use whatever they can for studying the Dark Arts and preparing for defence. I trust them to destroy everything they are unable to use._

_The key to my vault at Gringotts bank and all the money in the vault I leave to my godson, Harry James Potter._

_My family's home I leave_ -" Grimwig stopped reading at this point and looked at Harry, raising his bushy grey eyebrows.

"This is a somewhat peculiar situation, Mr Potter. The location of a house is normally specified in a will to make it clear which house we are talking about. However, the late Mr Black refused to write anything else but _my home_. I trust that you know which home he was referring to?"

Despite of the quiet and respectful tone of Grimwig's voice, the words _the late Mr Black_ made Harry feel as if salt was rubbed on his wound. Without thinking, he nervously hurried to answer:

"Yes, I know. It's in..." He stopped, suddenly confused. The location of the house was on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn't able to shape it into words. It was on a square, wasn't it? Or a street? A park, perhaps? In that town - a quite big town - the same town they were in now, wasn't it?

Puzzled by the games his brain was suddenly playing with him, Harry shrugged apologetically. Then he remembered that he probably wasn't allowed to say the address of Sirius's family home even if he was able to remember it - it was meant to be a secret.

He glanced at Dumbledore with embarrassment. The old wizard didn't seem to be angry with him. On the contrary, he looked rather amused.

"I apologise," Dumbledore said to Mrs Limmeridge, "but I need to speak to Harry in private for a moment."

Elspeth Limmeridge nodded and Dumbledore stood up and walked just a few steps away from the table. Harry followed him. Dumbledore took out his wand, waved it and said:

"_Silencio!_"

"They can't hear us now," he told Harry, lowering the hand in which he held the wand. "I'll be very short. The reason you were not able to say the address of Sirius's home is that it is still under the Fidelius charm. You know where it is, but you are not able to communicate it to anyone else - only I, as the Secret Keeper, am able to do that."

"Oh. Yes, of course," Harry said. He realised he should have remembered that himself.

"That is also the reason Sirius wasn't able to be any more specific when he was writing the will."

Harry nodded to show that he understood, and Dumbledore waved his wand once more to break the Silencing Charm. They returned to their seats at the oak table, and Mrs Limmeridge said:

"Well, that was quick. Please continue, Mr Grimwig."

Tobias Grimwig coughed and continued reading in a solemn voice:

"_My family's home I leave to my godson, Harry James Potter, with one further request that is explained in a private letter enclosed with this will. That letter must be given to my godson on the day when my will is read, and is not to be seen by anyone else_."

Harry stared at the polished surface of the table before him, trying to understand fully what he'd just heard. He didn't expect this at all. It had never occurred to him that he might become the owner of the house at Grimmauld Place.

The law-wizard went on reading:

"_I also leave my pet to Harry James Potter, either to take care of it himself if he is willing and has the means, or to provide it with a suitable home._" Once again he lifted his eyes from the scroll of parchment and looked at Harry. "Again, it isn't specified which pet this is, but I trust that Mr Potter knows it?"

"I do," Harry said shortly. He was concentrating much better now on what he should and what he shouldn't say, and he remembered in time that while Sirius's name had been cleared, Buckbeak was still a fugitive condemned to death.

That was all that was written in the will, except for a few legal phrases that Grimwig was now reading. Harry stopped listening; he was thinking about the sinister house at Grimmauld Place and wondering what he was supposed to do with it.

"Mr Potter!" The law-wizard's voice pulled Harry out of his thoughts. "This is the private letter Mr Black left for you."

Harry took the letter - a small scroll of parchment with his name written on it in Sirius's familiar handwriting. He didn't open it.

As if he'd guessed Harry's thoughts, Dumbledore said to Elspeth Limmeridge:

"If this office is not needed immediately for another case, perhaps we could leave Harry alone for a few minutes to read the letter in privacy?"

"Oh, by all means. Take all the time you need, Mr Potter," she said kindly and everyone except Harry stood up and walked to the door. Dumbledore was the last to leave: he stopped in the doorway for a moment and said:

"Arthur and I will wait for you outside, Harry."

Harry nodded and, as the door closed, started breaking the seal on the letter feeling a lump in his throat.


	4. Crop Circles

**Chapter 4 - Crop Circles**

**---**

_So there I was, a young, vain and naive girl left alone to make her own mistakes. I met Him, agreed to see him again, and again... I soon became completely immersed in this love affair, living for the moment I would uncover the soft heart hidden behind his facade of stone. I was confident I would find it eventually. The beautiful young girls in the novels I'd read had always succeeded in that, so surely I would too! It didn't occur to me that the facade could be true, that a girl could find the heart of her beloved to be every bit as cold as his behaviour._

_I began to meet my lover in the privacy of an old house above the sea. It was a house Muggles would call "haunted", positioned on a cliff difficult to reach. I thought the setting was very romantic; without a doubt, He had calculated it to be that way._

_There was something very strange about our intimate meetings, something that should have alarmed me straight away. Forgive me for writing about this, dear Luna. I know how embarrassing it is at your age - at any age, actually - to hear this sort of detail about your parents. Believe me, I wouldn't write about it if it wasn't important for understanding how I slowly came to realise that something was wrong. _

_What confused me was that I could never actually remember our intimate moments afterwards. The time between the moment we would pull into an embrace and the moment I'd find myself lying alone in our bed - he always seemed to have to leave in a hurry - seemed almost blank. I only remembered a vague feeling of romantic bliss, nothing else._

_Of course, now I understand the reasons for this. He was not really human anymore, and pretending to be a gentle and passionate lover would be at least extremely difficult for him, if not humiliating and disgusting. It was much simpler to modify my memory of these moments. Magic was something he was perfectly skilled at. Being human wasn't._

_You can understand that, once I realised who He was, I was grateful I wasn't able to remember more about our lovers' meetings._

---

In the Weasleys' home the atmosphere was slightly more relaxed than usual - this was one of those days when none of the family members were on duty for the Order, so it wasn't likely that one of the hands on their family clock would suddenly point towards the words_ in mortal peril._ Bill and Arthur were at work, the twins were in their shop, and Molly was reading _The Daily Prophet_, occasionally checking the roast in the oven and adjusting the temperature with a flick of her wand.

Ron and Ginny were sitting at the kitchen table and helping with the vegetables. They weren't doing exactly what their mother had asked them to: all they had to do was cut the carrots and parsnips into cubes which was, by hand or by magic, a task that shouldn't take more then ten minutes. They had been cutting them for fifteen minutes, though, and had only completed half of the job because they were trying to make the knives carve the vegetables into elaborate animal shapes, which they would then levitate and move above the table. They were not entirely successful: some of the animals didn't have any heads, and tiny pieces of vegetables were covering the table, the kitchen floor and even the ceiling.

Molly Weasley would occasionally glance at her children and smile fondly. Her normal reaction would have been to scold Ron and Ginny, tell them they were almost grown up now and should behave accordingly, and ask them to clean up the mess. She didn't even think of doing that now. A new war had started, she was in the Order of the Phoenix along with her husband and two of their sons, Percy had not contacted them since the Ministry had changed its ways, Fred and George were bound to get into some sort of danger sooner or later... Molly knew that they all might, very soon, miss these carefree moments. It was best to enjoy them while they could.

Needless to say, she was going to make Ron and Ginny clean every bit of the mess afterwards.

"Oh, look! A perfectly good elephant!" Ginny said excitedly, then added in a quieter voice: "I was actually trying to make a swan, but never mind."

"That doesn't count as _perfectly good_. It even has a beak at the end of its trunk," Ron said.

They were silent for a few moments, then Ron said:

"Dad is probably with Harry right now. Isn't he, Mum?"

"Yes, I think so," Molly answered shortly, waving her wand at the roast in the oven.

"Maybe Dad will invite him here for dinner," he said hopefully.

"Oh, I wish he would!" Ginny said.

Their mother began reproachfully: "I don't think that would be completely safe..." Then she smiled. "But if he does, there's plenty of food for everyone. Unless the two of you destroy these vegetables completely."

Ginny and Ron went back to working in silence, then Ginny asked:

"He hasn't answered any of your letters yet, has he?"

Ron shook his head. He seemed worried.

Ron and Ginny had been spending more time together that summer than ever before. They would either sit close to each other in silence, or play silly games like they did now; they would never talk about the battle in the Department of Mysteries, but they both knew the battle was the real reason they became closer than before. It was reassuring to be in the company of someone else who had been there and fought the Death Eaters. All other people seemed to be living in a different reality.

For the same reason, Ginny would occasionally write to Luna Lovegood and ask her to go for a walk with her. They would walk through the fields around Ottery St Catchpole, talking about seemingly unimportant things. Their conversations didn't flow easily: for example, if they would talk about Quidditch, Ginny would be more interested in the results and the famous players and Luna would want to talk about the conspiracies behind the games. Both girls were kind and friendly, though, and sincerely wanted these conversations to work. Because of that their talks weren't completely disastrous.

And, of course, the reason they really needed to see each other was the one thing they never talked about - the battle.

---

In the Lovegoods' home dinner was being prepared too. It mostly consisted of mushrooms from the forest that surrounded them and home-grown vegetables. The Lovegoods wanted to be in harmony with Nature, and to remain as self-reliant as possible. They never knew when the reason might arise for them to go into hiding.

One of the elves in their employment had returned from the forest to have a chat with them and was now invited for dinner. They were all sitting around the kitchen table, in the middle of which a small fire was burning, a cauldron floating above it. Mr Lovegood was grinding some spices with a pestle and mortar.

"So, you've been to the meeting?"

"Of course," said the elf, "but you know I can't talk about it."

"I know you can't", said Mr Lovegood. He took a small glass jar and added more coriander seeds into the mixture he was grinding. "I just wanted to know if you asked Urg about the interview."

"Yes, I did, and I told him it that would be good for the cause and that he can trust you. He said he'd think about it." After he said this, the elf suddenly blinked and made a movement as if he was going to bang his head on the table, but he restrained himself in time. "Not that I'm saying that Urg was there. I told you no such thing. I never told you anything about the meeting."

"Don't worry, Birch. You told us absolutely nothing. And you know we would never publish anything you don't want us to," Luna said soothingly. She and her father had been hoping for some time that Urg, the elusive leader of a goblin guerrilla group, would decide to give an interview and speak about their cause. Now that the Free Elves have been cooperating with Urg's goblins, they actually had a way of communicating their message to him.

A knock was heard at the window. Luna and her father looked up to see the face of a young wizard wearing spectacles through the glass.

"It's Balthasar Cook," Luna said and got up to open the door. The young wizard rushed in, with a very enthusiastic look on his face. He was carrying a pile of parchment covered with tiny handwriting. He took a seat, looked around and said:

"Hello, Theodosius, Luna. Hi, Oak."

"I'm Birch," the elf said in a hurt voice. "Oak is my sister."

"Sorry," Cook said absentmindedly and looked at Mr Lovegood. "Theo, I have something sensational. I've been doing a lot of research, and I wrote enough material for a whole book. But since you've always been so kind and published my articles, I will give you exclusive rights to print it as a series of articles in the Quibbler."

He placed the pile of parchment on the table, and Luna, her father and the elf leaned eagerly over it to see what the title was.

It said: _Crop Circles: Could They Be The Work Of Muggles_?

"Why, Balthasar, you're right. This really is sensational. It sounds far-fetched, but I know how much effort you put into your research and I'm sure you found excellent evidence. Besides, I've never really believed in the Mooncalves explanation," Theodosius Lovegood said looking at the first page. "I certainly want to publish it in The Quibbler. But, you know, I can only pay you four Knuts for each article."

"Oh, come on, Theo. This is worth at least seven Knuts."

Theodosius Lovegood shook his head, but before he was able to say anything Luna stood up from her chair and said in an angry voice:

"He told you. He can only pay you four Knuts and that's it."

Luna's father and Balthasar Cook looked at Luna in amazement, and the elf looked as if he was going to hide under his chair, but stopped himself in time. This was so unlike her.

"Alright, alright, four Knuts is fine with me," Cook said quickly and then added:

"I never thought you cared that much about money, Luna."

"I don't," Luna said in a soft voice. She seemed to be surprised by her own outburst. "I don't care about money. It's just that - Dad told you he couldn't pay you more. He told you the truth."

She knew how fair her father was about these things. For the last two years, since she'd started learning Arithmancy at Hogwarts, she'd been helping him with the accounts and she knew that he always kept the price of the magazine as low as possible, and the employees' wages as high as possible. He hardly ever made any profit. He didn't do what he did for the money - he just wanted the truth to reach as many people as possible.

That was the reason she admired him. And that was, as she knew from her mother's letter, the reason her mother fell in love with him. He would never turn his back on anyone in trouble. He never thought twice about helping a pregnant woman who had run away from the Dark Lord...

Luna sat down again, and her father said to Cook:

"It's a deal then. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Soon they were listening to Balthasar Cook's stories about crop circles, while the fire was flickering and a pleasant scent of spices from the cauldron spread through the kitchen.


	5. The New Headquarters

**Author's note: **In the previous chapter, when the Lovegoods and Balthasar Cook were talking about crop circles, it was not my intention to replace J. K. Rowling's explanation of crop circles with a new one - the "Muggles" explanation was supposed to be a far-out theory that only people who read the Quibbler or write for it would believe in. To avoid confusion about this (especially since it's only a side detail and not part of the plot) I edited chapter 4 and added a mention of Mooncalves. Thanks to Fuzzy and A. Troll for warning me about this, and many thanks to all of you who reviewed so far.

---

**Chapter 5 - The New Headquarters**

_While I was preoccupied with what I thought was my exciting romance, I kept hearing news about horrible crimes being committed by the Dark Lord and his followers. I was shocked and worried, but not as much as I should have been. I thought the crimes, while horrible and despicable, were no concern of mine._

_Very few people had ever seen the Dark Lord's face. Those who had seen it usually didn't wish to talk about it - or weren't around to talk anymore. Nevertheless, some rumours about his appearance were passed around. People would talk about his glowing, red eyes and his reptile-like face. Some thought he was the monster-child of a human and a snake. That's, of course, impossible. Other would say that he was born human, and that his appearance was the result of unspeakably horrible Dark rituals he underwent to achieve immortality. I think that's much more likely._

_As I said, I didn't worry about it at all at the time. I only had thoughts about my lover, and doubts were forming somewhere in a small corner of my mind. So many things about Him were, to put it mildly, peculiar._

_There was, as I already mentioned, the feeling that he was able to read my mind. _

_I also mentioned that he kept asking me whether I loved him, although he never spoke about his own emotions. I interpreted this as a sign that he had emotions after all._

_Then there was the present he gave me: a beautiful amethyst pendant with a carved figure, baby Hercules sleeping among the stars of the Milky Way. It was a beautiful thing. It must have been the work of goblin craftsmen, because humans couldn't possibly carve such a small figure in stone with such precision. You could even see the eyelashes on the baby's closed eyes._

_He asked me - no, he **demanded** of me - to wear it every time I was going to one of our meetings in the old house on the cliff. Whenever he saw me he would immediately look around my neck to see if I was wearing his present. That's how I understood it, at least, and I took it as more evidence that he was emotional after all._

_Another peculiar habit of his was drinking a potion from a small bottle. I would see him doing that whenever I spent more than an hour with him. When I asked him about it he answered, very shortly, that it was medicine. It surprised me because he didn't look ill, but he refused to say anything else about it. _

_It was only when I saw his true form that I understood he must have been taking Polyjuice Potion._

---

Harry unrolled the piece of parchment. It was covered with his godfather's familiar handwriting. The letter was short, and the writing was messier than usual. Harry thought Sirius must have had written this letter in a hurry - the visit to a law-wizard's office was a great risk for a fugitive.

The letter said:

_Dear Harry,_

_As you already know, my old family home belongs to you now. I always hated the place, and I'm sure you do too. I wish I had something better than that to give you. However, I know how you hate living with your relatives and it is possible you might like to have a place of your own, however ugly its history._

_Although you are to be the one and only owner of the house, I ask you to allow..._

Here the letter became almost illegible. Several words seemed to have been started and then crossed out before the next clearly written words:

_... our mutual friends to continue using it if they haven't found a better place for themselves._

Harry understood why this part of the letter was messy: like in the will itself, the Fidelius Charm had prevented Sirius from mentioning the Order of the Phoenix using his home.

_If, at the time you're reading this, my mother is still there - don't let her upset you. Just scrub the old hag with turpentine or something._

_Sirius_

The last sentence brought Harry dangerously close to tears. It sounded more like Sirius than anything else he'd read or heard that day. He could imagine Sirius standing in front of his mother's portrait at Grimmauld place, threatening to destroy it if it didn't shut up.

He folded the letter and put it in his pocket, and walked out of the office. Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley were standing outside in the corridor, talking to Elspeth Limmeridge.

"Is everything all right, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, it is. Er... may I talk to you, Professor?"

"Of course. Let's go to the new Headquarters."

Harry followed Dumbledore and Mr Weasley through the busy corridor, noticing the surprised looks on the faces of witches and wizards passing them by when they would recognise him.

They approached the door with the golden sign that read: Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore reached out to open the door, but before he could do it the door opened by itself and Mad-Eye Moody walked through it. He looked worried, but Harry had never seen him looking any other way.

"Ah, Potter, you are here," he said, both his real eye and the magical one focusing on Harry. "Take care of yourself! The enemy could be anywhere."

His real eye stared at Harry until he reluctantly nodded to show that he understood, but the magical eye swivelled around until it focused on Arthur Weasley.

"Good thing you're here, Weasley. There's something I wanted to ask you. Theodosius Lovegood is a neighbour of yours, isn't he?"

"Well, not exactly a neighbour, but he does live near Ottery St Catchpole. Why?"

"I've been thinking about this magazine of his, The Quibbler. He's been keeping an eye on unexplained mysteries for quite a long time now. He wrote a lot of nonsense, of course, but I've been reading some old editions and I noticed things that might be useful to us. Occurrences that could be explained by secret use of Dark magic, although Lovegood explained them with some outlandish theory or other."

"So what was it you wanted to ask me?" Mr Weasley asked with a hint of impatience in his voice. Mad-Eye was still standing in the doorway and barring their way into the Headquarters. Harry felt a bit annoyed because he wanted to discuss Sirius's letter with Dumbledore as soon as possible, but Moody's mention of the Lovegoods nevertheless aroused his interest.

Moody continued:

"Well, if Lovegood keeps a sort of journal on unexplained mysteries, or archives his notes on these things, it would be very useful for the Order if he'd allow us to see them. Do you think he'd mind?"

Arthur Weasley considered this for a moment.

"Well, you have to understand that Lovegood has never trusted the Ministry, and that's the reason he's never been completely frank with me. And the Order has the Ministry's full support now. On the other hand, he's unquestionably against the Dark side. I have no doubts about that. I'll ask him. See you later, Moody!"

Mad-Eye Moody finally moved away from the entrance to the Headquarters and Harry followed Arthur and Dumbledore inside. The room they entered was large and richly furnished, with a shiny marble floor. At the far end of the room, a group of witches and wizards was standing in a close group around a desk, whispering excitedly. Harry noticed Tonks, this time with bright orange hair; she glanced at the door as the three of them were coming in and cheerfully waved to Harry.

There were other tables and desks around the room, some of them covered with pieces of parchment that looked like maps and with all sorts of strange instruments. Shelves with thousands of books and scrolls lined the walls.

Harry's surprise was probably obvious from the expression on his face, because Dumbledore smiled at him and said:

"Yes, Harry, things have changed very much. The Ministry feels very guilty about not believing you and supporting us earlier. They are trying to make it up to us now by making sure we have everything we'll ever need."

He gestured towards a small, empty table.

"Let's sit down there, shall we?"

Noticing that Arthur Weasley was hesitating, Harry said: "Er... you too, Mr Weasley, if you have a bit of time. This isn't supposed to be a secret or anything."

When all three of them took their seats, Harry said:

"I'd like the Order to continue using Sirius's house. That's what he wanted, and I agree with him."

"I'm very grateful for that, Harry," said Dumbledore. "However, you can see that we have new Headquarters now, and you have every right to keep the house at Grimmauld place for yourself."

"For myself?" Harry repeated. The very words sounded so strange. He was still unable to grasp the fact that he owned the sinister old house now.

"Yes, Harry. I know how you hate living with your relatives. You will have to endure it a bit more, I'm afraid, for the reasons I explained to you at Hogwarts. It will not last forever, though. I thought you would like to have a home of your own."

"A home of my own," Harry repeated, still surprised by the sound of the words. "I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to think of that house as a home. It would remind me too much of Sirius. Doesn't the Order need it at all, then?" he asked, feeling somewhat hurt by the rejection of his offer.

"Not at the present. As you can see, this is much more suitable for our needs. However, no one can be sure that the tide won't change once more. I know that, if the need arises, you will allow us to use the house again."

"Of course I will. So that's it then." Harry was silent for a few moments, and then he remembered another request from Sirius's will. He asked: "Oh, and what should I do with Buckbeak, Professor Dumbledore? I would love to keep him as my pet, but there is no way the Dursleys would allow me to bring him home." He imagined the look on Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's faces if he brought a hippogriff with him to Privet Drive, and smiled for the first time since he'd arrived at the Ministry.

"Yes, I should imagine they wouldn't," Dumbledore said, smiling as well. "We can arrange for him to be taken to Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank's sanctuary for magical creatures. She will take good care of him."

"Professor Grubbly-Plank? Yes, I'm sure she will," Harry said somewhat absentmindedly. He looked around the room, at all the parchments and magical instruments and the members of the Order huddled around the desk and discussing something that was, without doubt, of great importance for the war. He was disappointed that everything was settled already and it was time for him to go home. He didn't want to see Grimmauld Place at all, but it felt so dreadful to have to return to Privet Drive, now that he'd seen a glimpse of the world he belonged to.


	6. The Rat In The Garden

**Chapter 6 - The Rat In The Garden**

****

"Well, if everything is settled," Mr Weasley said, "I'll find two or three members of the Order who are off duty at the moment, and we can accompany Harry back home.

Harry sighed. "Do I really have to return there? Isn't there anything I can do here to help you? Some papers that need sorting, at least?"

Mr Weasley looked at him with pity. "I'm really sorry, Harry, but it's extremely important for you to stay in your relatives' house."

Harry said nothing - he knew Mr Weasley was right. He didn't get up to leave the room, however; he remained in his chair, staring at the table in front of him. A part of him couldn't help feeling he was being rejected, although he understood the reasons it was necessary for him to go home.

"There is another possibility," Dumbledore said. He was speaking slowly and cautiously, as if aware that his words might upset Harry. "You could also go to the house at Grimmauld Place - it is yours now, and you're perfectly safe there too. It's just that we thought you might not want to stay there."

Harry tried to imagine himself staying in the large, gloomy house, full of Dark magical objects, talking portraits and - worst of all - memories of Sirius.

He shook his head.

"No, you're right. I don't want to stay there."

Dumbledore said: "You see, Harry, there are only three places in this country where you are, without any doubt, completely safe from Voldemort. One is your relatives' home, where your mother's protection over you is stronger than anything he will ever be able to try. Sirius's house is another safe place. It's protected by the Fidelius charm, and as long as I don't speak about it - which I won't - Voldemort will never know about it."

Harry could already guess what Dumbledore was going to say next.

"The third place is Hogwarts, isn't it?" he asked. He was looking at Dumbledore intently, so he didn't notice that the group of Order members who had been discussing something around a table at the other end of the room had gone quiet and was now listening to their conversation.

"That's right, Harry. Voldemort himself will never be able to enter Hogwarts. But, I'm afraid, his Death Eaters can - at least two of them had done so in the past."

Harry knew Dumbledore was talking about Bartemius Crouch and Peter Pettigrew, who had both entered Hogwarts - Pettigrew in his Animagus form as a rat, Crouch disguised as another person with the help of Polyjuice Potion.

Dumbledore continued: "It means that I can't be absolutely sure that you'd be safe at Hogwarts, not if I'm not there myself to protect you. And I think you wouldn't like to spend your summers at Hogwarts anyway, not with no one else but Argus Filch and Mrs Norris to keep you company."

Harry shook his head. That would, indeed, be worse than living with his relatives.

Suddenly a voice Harry knew very well spoke from somewhere behind him: "After you've finished discussing Mr Potter's summer plans, Headmaster, I would like to have a word with you about my latest report."

Harry turned around and saw that three members of the Order had approached them, including Professor Snape who gave him a short, contemptuous look before turning once again to Dumbledore. Harry felt furious, although he tried not to let it show. He wouldn't have complained about having to return home had he known Snape was there, listening to him. How typical of Snape to make him look like a spoiled brat who cared more about his plans for the holidays than about the fight against Voldemort!

"I'll be with you in a minute, Severus," Dumbledore said.

Mr Weasley, who had been watching Harry with concern, asked: "I wonder if it would be all right for Harry to spend a couple of days at the Burrow, Professor Dumbledore? After all, we've placed all those additional protection spells all around it, and we didn't have any trouble so far."

"I'd love to come!" Harry said and looked at Dumbledore with expectation.

The old wizard looked at Harry thoughtfully through his half-moon glasses. After a while he said: "Yes, I do believe it would be all right. It's still a risk, of course, but so was bringing you here. We can't force you to stay in complete safety all the time."

Harry felt a sudden rush of happiness that almost completely shook off the heavy feeling the visit to the Ministry had given him. He was going to stay with the Weasleys - in the world he belonged to, among people he liked!

He was feeling so happy that as he was leaving the Headquarters with Mr Weasley soon afterwards he even greeted Snape cheerfully, leaving him speechless with surprise. In the lift, on their way to the atrium, Mr Weasley told him about the new spells protecting the Burrow. As he explained, places important to the Order of the Phoenix all around Britain were being protected by series of complicated charms. The Burrow, being the home of four members of the Order, was one of these places. It would be extremely difficult for any enemy to attack the house.

As they approached the fireplaces in the atrium, Arthur Weasley said: "I'm just going to talk to Molly and tell her you'll be joining us for supper. Then we'll go to your aunt and uncle's house for you to pack your things."

Harry nodded and waited patiently while Mr Weasley knelt in front of one of the fireplaces talking to his wife. There weren't as many people in the atrium as when they were arriving, and most of them seemed to be going home. Harry smiled. He felt as if he was, at last, going home too.

---

_It happened one afternoon when I awoke after what I thought was a nap - but was probably the effect of a Memory Charm - after one of our lovers' meetings. He would usually already have left the house when I'd wake up, but this time I could hear him moving around in the next room._

_Happy that my beloved was still with me, I got up and walked to the door between the rooms, which was left ajar. I wasn't trying to be quiet but, luckily, I was: the floor of the bedroom was covered with a thick carpet, so my bare feet made no sound. I looked through the door and ... there was this horrible, pale creature, holding a small vial in its hand. The fingers clutching the vial were long and ghostly pale, and the face - the face was monstrous, only half-human, with red eyes. Terrified and afraid to move, I watched the creature drink from the vial. The ghastly face contorted in pain for a moment, and then the whole body began to change, assuming once again the form of my lover._

_I knew at once whose face it was that I'd seen. It was the Dark Lord, looking exactly how I'd imagined him from the descriptions I'd heard, only even less human. And I had held him in my arms only fifteen minutes earlier! I thought I was going to be sick. But at the same time I felt something even more important than repulsion: fear. Now that I'd found about his secret, I was going to die._

_I was still frozen to the spot, and had he looked at the door he would have seen me. Fortunately, he never looked. Very slowly, I crept to where my cloak was hanging and took my wand._

_I was searching my mind desperately for a way to stay alive. I was sure I couldn't fight him - he was known as one of the most powerful wizards alive. Disapparating was an option, but I was too nervous to attempt it. I had only learned how to Disapparate two years before, and was only able to do it if I was concentrating very hard. Simply running away would never have worked. He would have found me, and it was nearly impossible anyway - the house was on a cliff, almost impossible to approach by foot._

_All these thoughts were running through my head in seconds. What about staying and pretending I hadn't noticed anything? That wouldn't have worked at all, I knew, because he was able to see my thoughts. Suddenly I saw a possible solution. He wouldn't be able to see my thoughts if, at the moment he saw me, I was thinking nothing._

_I lay on the bed, face down, grasping my wand firmly and hiding it under my body. I didn't know how to make myself fall asleep by magic, but I did know the Stunning Spell. That would have to do - it was the only solution I saw. I pointed the tip of the wand towards my chest and whispered the incantation._

_When I woke up I was alone in the house. It had worked. He'd obviously left without coming close enough to me to notice that I'd been unconscious and not sleeping. I began to cry - out of disillusionment, fear or relief, I'm not sure._

_When I managed to calm down, I Apparated to my home. I knew I wasn't safe. I 'd probably never be safe again. I would have to spend my life in hiding, and I had no idea how._

---

Conversation was very lively during supper at the Lovegoods' home. All sorts of topics were mentioned: the secret crimes of Cornelius Fudge, the recent Quibbler article about Merlin having been seen alive, and, of course, crop circles. Balthasar Cook was eager to talk about his groundbreaking theory, and the others were eager to listen.

Luna, however, didn't participate in the conversation with the enthusiasm she would usually have shown for these subjects. She seemed somewhat distant and thoughtful. Her father kept looking at her with concern. He'd noticed that she often behaved like that since she first read the letter her mother had left for her.

After supper Balthasar Cook offered to take them outside and show them how, in his opinion, Muggles made crop circles. It was already getting dark, but Cook said it was even better that way: Muggles usually worked on it during the night too, so this way it would be more authentic.

Theodosius Lovegood took advantage of a moment when Cook and the elf were searching for some rope and a wooden stick - things Cook said he'd need - to say to his daughter:

"You should try and stop thinking about that letter, Luna. It was important that you learn the facts, but they don't have to affect your life."

Luna nodded. "I know, Dad. It's just... It's just so difficult."

Her father sighed. "Yes, I know it is. Maybe it would be easier for you if you threw the letter away."

Luna looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise. "But Mum wrote it! How could I throw it away?"

"We have plenty of things to remind of her - letters, books, photographs. You wouldn't be betraying her memory by letting go of the letter. You don't have to do it straight away, but just consider it. Please?"

"I will, Dad," Luna said, knowing he was right. She knew her mother wrote the letter to inform her of the things she had to know, not to cause her pain. If her mother could talk to her now she would give her the same advice her father did.

She was going to stop reading the letter and throw it away. She was just not entirely ready for it yet. Promising to herself she'd do it soon, she followed her father outside.

"Hey, not there, Cook! That's my vegetable garden!" her father shouted and they all laughed. Cook chose another spot for his demonstration, a clearing covered in tall grass, and began his speech:

"So, let us imagine this is a field, not a meadow. I'm not sure if it will work so well on grass, but we'll have to try. Now I think Muggles begin by taking a wooden stick and inserting it into the ground..."

---

Harry and Mr Weasley travelled back to Mrs Figg's house using the Floo Network, avoided her invitations to stay for supper and walked quickly to the Dursleys' home.

Aunt Petunia opened the door when they rang the bell and moved aside to let Harry in, saying nothing.

"Er... Aunt Petunia, I'm going to spend some time at the Weasleys' home. I just came back to get my things," Harry said and noticed a slight frown appearing on his aunt's face. Surely she wasn't going to try and stop him from going out of pure spite? It would make no sense - the Dursleys liked it when he wasn't home.

Aunt Petunia looked as if she was struggling with herself, then she said through gritted teeth: "He said you shouldn't leave this house. That Headmaster of yours."

"It's all right, Mrs Dursley," Mr Weasley said. "Professor Dumbledore said it was all right for Harry to go."

"Fine, then," Aunt Petunia said and Harry quickly walked past her. He hurried upstairs, hoping that Uncle Vernon and Dudley were watching TV and wouldn't notice him.

Hedwig was waiting for him in her cage. It was as if she knew she was about to travel and had prepared herself. Harry quickly packed some clothes and ran downstairs with his suitcase and Hedwig's cage. Mr Weasley had been trying to humour Aunt Petunia by telling her how fascinated he was by their doorbell and asking her how it worked. "Yes, yes, electricity. I've heard about it before," he was saying when Harry pulled him away, hastily saying goodbye to his aunt.

Petunia watched them walk down the street, as if she was trying to make sure they'd go away. As she was about to go inside and close the door, she thought she heard a noise from the garden. She looked in the direction of the noise and saw something thin and long disappear behind the fence.

She was puzzled. What she saw looked very much like a rat's tail. But that was impossible - there were never any rats anywhere near her impeccably clean home. Thinking she'd probably imagined it, Petunia went inside and closed her door.


	7. At The Burrow

**Chapter 7 - At The Burrow**

****

_I knew I had some time - a day or two, perhaps - to spend at home, preparing for my escape. He suspected nothing so far; he would only know something was wrong as soon as he sent me a note inviting me to the house on the cliff again. When that happened and I disobeyed him, he'd start searching for me._

_I was too shaken to leave immediately - anyway, I had no idea where to go. The first thing I did was to prepare a very strong Calming Draught and try and get a few hours of sleep while I can. It helped - after I woke up I was able to think much more clearly._

_I realised I was going to need money, and I wouldn't be able to visit Gringotts bank so freely after I disappear. So I Apparated to London, visited the bank and took as many Galleons as I could carry from the family vault. I wondered if the Dark Lord would find out from the goblins that I'd done this. I was afraid that he would, but now I think he probably never did - goblins are much more powerful that most humans are aware of, and I doubt he has any control over them._

_As I was leaving the bank I saw an apothecary on the opposite side of Diagon Alley and it gave me an idea. I went inside and bought all the necessary ingredients to brew a hair-dying potion. Of course the Dark Lord would still recognise me with my hair colour changed - it would be absurd to believe dyeing would help me escape him. But my long blonde hair was my most striking feature and I thought it would be a good idea to change it if I wanted a new identity._

_I returned home and spent the next few hours brewing the potion and packing some of my belongings, still feeling rather calm and rational. When the potion was finished I took a pair of scissors to cut my hair of first and stood in the front of the bathroom mirror. When I looked at my reflection I saw with disgust that I was still wearing the pendant with the sleeping baby Hercules my so-called lover had given me._

_I tore it off my neck and was about to throw it into the toilet when I saw something that terrified me._

_The eyes of baby Hercules were now open and looking at me._

_I screamed and dropped the pendant. For a moment I thought this was His way of spying on me._

_But almost immediately I realised that spying wasn't the purpose of the pendant. I remembered how he would always look at it every time he saw me. He was expecting it to change. I looked at the face of the baby and knew what this change meant._

_I was pregnant._

---

When Harry finally stepped out of the fireplace in the Weasleys' kitchen, Molly Weasley almost smothered him with a hug. This embarrassed Harry a bit, but at the same time he was pleased. For a moment Ginny looked as if she was going to hug him too, but she restrained herself and just smiled and said "Hi, Harry." Ron greeted him too with a happy grin and told him he'd been worried for him. Harry remembered with embarrassment that he hadn't answered any of Ron or Hermione's letters. That had made sense somehow when he was at the house at Privet Drive, alone and in a gloomy mood, but now it just seemed unkind.

"No, I'm alright. It's just..." He trailed off, not sure what to say, but Ron insist on an answer anyway. Arthur Weasley came out through the fireplace a moment after him, and Molly insisted that they should all have supper immediately because Arthur and Harry must be starving. They weren't exactly starving, of course, but Harry was feeling hungry. Bill joined them in a few moments - he was spending as much time as possible at the Burrow for security reasons, he explained - and they were all soon seated around the table, enjoying the roast and the vegetables, talking and laughing. Harry was seated between Ron and Ginny, who were both trying to talk to him at once. Their mother kept filling his plate with food, as if he'd really been starving before he came to visit them.

"Hermione is coming here too," Ron said to Harry. "We invited her - we thought it would be nice for all of us to be here together."

"That's great!" Harry said. "When is she coming?"

"Tomorrow morning," Ron said. Ginny smiled mischievously and said, pretending to whisper into Harry's ear but actually speaking loud enough for Ron to hear:

"Ron's been reading Hogwarts, a History to impress Hermione. He's trying to be intellectual."

Ron's face turned read and he mumbled something about the book being actually very interesting. Harry grinned and concentrated on his supper.

"Why are some of these vegetables shaped like animals?" he asked.

"Oh, it was Ron and Ginny being silly," Mrs Weasley said.

"Come on, Mum, they are works of art. Look at this lovely giraffe with seven legs that Ginny made!" Ron said, shooting a vindictive glance at Ginny.

Harry felt that he could stay there forever, watching the fire in the fireplace that gave the whole room an orange glow and listening to Ron and Ginny teasing each other.

At one point he asked about the protection spells Mr Weasley had mentioned at the Ministry, and Bill explained about them: the Order of the Phoenix had chosen several locations throughout Britain that were important for their work and protected them by a combination of many different spells. The Burrow, as the home of four members of the Order, was one of those locations. Protective spells now ensured that it was almost impossible to find and very difficult for intruders to enter - certainly impossible to enter in secret.

Soon after they finished eating Tonks' head appeared in the fireplace, her orange hair ruffled. She called to tell Harry she'd taken Buckbeak to Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank's sanctuary for magical creatures.

"How did you take him there? Did you ride him?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I did, and I'm not sure I want to ride a hippogriff again," Tonks said. "He's a lovely animal, but brooms are much easier and can't bite your head off."

"Do I have to pay Professor Grubbly-Plank for taking him?"

"Oh, no, she doesn't expect you to. She does this because she loves magical creatures. You can donate to her sanctuary if you want to."

Harry made a mental note to make a donation the next time he took money from his vault.

"This is yours now, Harry," Tonks said and her arm reached out of the fireplace to hand him a large iron key.

"The key to the house at Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked. It felt heavy in his hand, and it was covered with sinister-looking ornaments such as coiled snakes.

"Yes. The Order doesn't need it anymore. The hippogriff's been taken care of, and we temporarily shrank the Dark magical objects and transferred them to a safe at the new headquarters. Oh, and guess who volunteered to go through them and decide what could be used?" Tonks looked at Arthur and Molly with an ironic smile.

"Oh, don't tell me," Arthur said. "It was Mundungus, wasn't it?"

Tonks nodded. Harry knew that Mundungus Fletcher was the last person in the Order that should be trusted with a collection of Dark objects. He would undoubtedly try to steal them and sell them somewhere.

Tonks continued, smiling mischievously:

"Dumbledore told him sure, he could go through them, but it was too much work for just one person. So someone else had to help him, and Dumbledore suggested you, Molly."

Everyone laughed, and Bill said: "Brilliant! If anyone can scare old Dung, it's Mum."

After Tonks left them, Ron asked Harry:

"So you own the house at Grimmauld Place now?"

Harry nodded. "I don't really want it, though," he said. He was a bit scared that, now that he became even richer, Ron might feel jealous once again like he did in their fourth year. But Ron didn't seem to mind; in fact, he grinned and said: "That's cool."

There was another conversation through the Floo Network that evening: Mr Weasley remembered that Moody had asked him to talk to Theodosius Lovegood about his records on unexplained mysteries.

"I have no duties at the Ministry tomorrow morning, so I'll ask him if I can drop by at his home then. The Lovegoods don't want unannounced guests," he said turning to Harry, "so if I don't ask him first I'll just get lost in the woods."

"Are they hiding from Voldemort?" Harry asked. Mr Weasley flinched when he heard the name.

"Not only from him, I believe. They used to be scared of the Ministry trying to destroy _The Quibbler._ But Theodosius is a very decent chap and he does trust me, so I'm sure he won't mind me paying him a visit."

Mr Weasley took a handful of Floo Powder, threw it into the fireplace and said in a clear voice: "Mr Lovegood, The Orient Express, Ottery St Catchpole!"

"The Orient Express?" Harry repeated with surprise. "Is that the name of their house?"

"It's not just a name," Ginny said. "They really live in an old wagon of the Wizard Orient Express. Luna took me there to see it once."

"But... How come they live in an old train wagon?"

"Well, one reason is that they don't have much money," Ginny said. "But Luna told me that it's also so that they move away quickly if there's a need. It's adapted as a house, but it can still move around if they ever want it to."

Mr Lovegood's head had appeared in the green flames in the fireplace. Harry thought he looked nothing like his daughter. His hair was long, dark and wavy, tied into a ponytail. Only the slightly dreamy expression in his eyes as he looked around at all the people present reminded Harry of Luna.

Arthur Weasley explained what Moody had asked him to do. Luna's father seemed a little bit worried, but he said:

"All right, Weasley. I'm not too happy about Ministry people going through my papers, but I understand the situation very well. I'll do what I can to help. You can come over tomorrow and go through my archives, and take anything you find useful with you."

"Thanks, Lovegood. I'll be there tomorrow morning then," said Mr Weasley.

Luna's father was about to leave, but Ginny asked him: "Oh, Mr Lovegood, could I come too? I'd like to see Luna again. And could Harry and Ron and Hermione come with me?"

Mr Lovegood smiled. "Luna told me about all of you. I know she'll be glad to see you. Yes, you are all invited." He wished them good night and his head disappeared from the fireplace.

---

The protective magic surrounding the Burrow was very strong. With the help of the Order, the Weasleys had placed barriers on all known entrances to their house and garden, including the fireplace. They had made it almost impossible for an enemy to enter their home.

However, one of the Death Eaters had spent twelve years at their home and knew about secret entrances even the Weasleys themselves didn't know about. The garden gnomes had left tunnels in the garden soil. The garden was easy for a rat to enter.

He was sleeping now, curled in the hollow of a tree. He didn't see a way to enter the house itself, but sooner or later the Weasleys and their guest would have to come out. Peter Pettigrew had time enough to wait.


	8. Hermione's Arrival

**Chapter 8 - Hermione's Arrival**

_I think what I'm about to write will be the most difficult part of this letter for you to read. I thought about not mentioning it at all, but both Theo and I think I should tell you everything. Knowing what you know so far, you are bound to start asking questions. Why did the Dark Lord want to have a child at all? And, having found out about this, why didn't I choose to end the pregnancy?_

_If I leave these questions unanswered, you will wonder about them and imagine various answers in your mind, which might hurt you even more than the true ones. I can't give you only a part of the truth - I must tell you everything._

_When I realised what the pendant meant, I took a pestle and mortar I used to grind stones for potions and I beat the pendant until it was completely pulverised. It helped me let out my anger. How dare He try and make me the mother of his heir, I thought while beating the stone with all my strength._

_When I was finished, I threw away the dust and went on to cut and dye my hair as I'd planned. I wanted to visit a Healer and end the pregnancy as soon as possible, but it would be better to do that under a false name and with my appearance changed. I also made my eyebrows thicker and grew a mole on my nose using some simple charms. I was almost enjoying the transformation. I wished I had done something like that for amusement earlier, when my life wasn't in danger._

_I browsed the latest issue of The Daily Prophet for' advertisements and found what I was looking for: the address of a Healer in Knockturn Alley who promised "quick help with all health problems and no questions asked." I needed someone who would not want to know my real name or see my medical records._

_I Apparated to the Healer's waiting room, gave a false name to her house-elf and sat among the other patients, most of them victims of nasty curses. As I was waiting I felt more and more uneasy._

_I had assumed that the Dark Lord had chosen me to give birth to his heir, but the more I thought about it the less sense it made. There had been so much talk about the sacrifices and rituals he had gone through to achieve immortality, losing some of his humanity in the process. And I had seen him with my own eyes: he was, indeed, not quite human any more._

_But if he had become immortal, why would he want an heir? He obviously wanted to be the most powerful wizard alive, now and forever. An immortal wouldn't want to turn his power over to an heir. There had to be some other reason for this, I thought. I realised I wasn't quite sure I wanted to end the pregnancy. I wanted to understand his motives first._

_The conflict I was feeling was probably showing in my face, because a woman sitting next to me in the waiting room decided to try and cheer me up. She told me she was a Seer and offered me a free palm reading. I didn't really want her to do it, but I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself by refusing._

_I gave her my hand reluctantly and let her look at the lines on my palm. I flinched when she immediately said that I was pregnant, but then she went on to say that she saw a happy future for me: a daughter and a wonderful husband deeply in love with me. I said nothing, but I felt like laughing hysterically. So I'll marry the Dark Lord and live happily ever after? Fortune telling was a load of rubbish after all._

_But the next sentence the Seer said changed my mind. She said the husband she saw in my future wasn't the real father of my daughter, but would love her as if she was his own. She also said I'd never see the real father again._

_It sounded so impossible, but I was desperate for a glimpse of hope. I decided to believe her._

---

Harry spent the night in what used to be Percy's room. Mrs Weasley had said in a cheerful how good it was that they had a spare room now and that Harry can have a bedroom of his own; only a slight shadow that passed over her face as she was sleeping revealed that she wasn't so happy about the empty room after all.

Harry felt tired after all that had happened that day. He drifted into sleep quickly and even though he was awaken several times during the night by the ghoul in the attic, it was the best sleep he had in a long time.

He woke up to the sound of Hedwig's wings flapping; she was returning from her nightly hunt and going to sleep in her cage. Voices could be heard from downstairs. Harry got dressed quickly and went down to the kitchen. Mr Weasley was already preparing tea, and Ron and Bill were sitting at the table, talking.

"You didn't have to get up so early, Harry. I know you were tired yesterday," Arthur Weasley said.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep anymore. Hedwig woke me up," Harry said and thought to himself that this wasn't quite true - he could have slept more if he'd wanted to, but he was happy to be there and looking forward to the day.

Molly joined them very soon, and last of all Ginny; just as they were starting to slice the ham for breakfast, the screeching of brakes was heard from outside.

"That's probably Hermione! Let's go and meet her!" Ginny said, and everyone except for Bill and Molly rushed outside. Arthur led them up a small hill covered with trees, explaining to Harry on the way:

"Hermione is arriving on the Knight Bus. We told her to tell the driver to stop on a clearing at the edge of the forest. If she gave him the address of the Burrow, he would have no idea where to go. It's the protective charms we placed on the house. It's extremely difficult for anyone to find now."

The Knight bus was already on the clearing: they could already see the headlights through the leaves. But Mr Weasley stopped them from going out onto the clearing, saying it would be wiser for them to stay among the trees until the bus leaves.

Harry thought he would need some time to get used to these new security measures, but he understood that they were necessary. He was particularly glad that he was hidden behind a tree when he heard the voice of Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus, saying:

"What did you want us to drive you 'ere for? There's nothing 'ere but trees!"

Harry knew that Stan thought of him as a celebrity and remembered every occasion he saw him taking the Knight Bus. If he saw Harry now, he would probably talk about it for days and soon every wizard in Britain would know about his whereabouts.

Hermione's voice was heard next, saying politely but firmly:

"It's all right, this is the right place. Thank you!"

More screeching of brakes was heard as the Knight Bus drove away in a mad speed. Harry and the Weasleys could safely walk out into the clearing now. Hermione was standing there, holding her suitcase and smiling as she waved to them.

"Harry, are you alright?" she asked when they approached her. "You never answered any letters."

"I'm alright. Sorry," said Harry. He was feeling really guilty after he saw how much his silence had worried both Ron and Hermione.

Mr Weasley wanted to take Hermione's suitcase and carry it, but Ron was faster. He grabbed the suitcase from Hermione's hand and started downhill towards the Burrow.

Soon they were all at the table, eating breakfast and making plans for the day. Bill was going to work immediately after breakfast, and Mrs Weasley was planning to spend the morning at the Order Headquarters, going through the Black family's Dark magic objects with Mundungus Fletcher. Arthur Weasley had planned to visit Theodosius Lovegood in the morning, and Ginny explained to Hermione that they were all going with him to see Luna.

Molly Weasley kept on urging all of them to eat more; Hermione refused a second helping of fried ham, saying it was excellent but it was dangerous for one's health to eat too much of fatty food. Although he was just about to eat a large piece of ham at that very moment, Ron said:

"It would be even worse if we were living in the eighteenth century. They had five-course breakfasts at Hogwarts then!"

Ron attempted to say it in a completely offhand manner, as if discussing history over breakfast was something he did every day. Still, he couldn't help looking just a little bit smug.

Hermione almost dropped her fork when she heard what Ron said. She asked him, her eyes shining with delight:

"You've been reading _Hogwarts, a History_?"

"Well, yes, just a little bit. It was interesting." Ron was still trying to speak casually. Harry glanced at Ginny and noticed that she was trying hard not to burst into laughter. But Hermione was overjoyed with Ron's sudden interest in her favourite book and spent the rest of breakfast talking to him.

After breakfast Mr Weasley said it was time to go to the Lovegoods' home and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny followed him outside.

---

The first time Harry and the Weasleys went out that morning, they had run out so fast that Wormtail was taken by surprise and didn't have time to attempt following them. Luckily for him, they had returned into the house very soon, with a girl Wormtail recognised as their friend Hermione. That horrible cat of hers didn't seem to be with her this time.

He moved from the tree where he'd been hiding during the night to a bush with a better view of the front door. After some time he saw Arthur Weasley come out through the door, and Harry and his friends came out after him.

Wormtail followed them from a safe distance, sneaking through the tall grass and under bushes. He could hear fragments of their conversation. They mentioned some people called the Lovegoods several times. Wormtail didn't know who they were, but if Harry Potter and the Weasleys kept company with them, they were important and he had to find out more.

---

Arthur Weasley was leading the way through the forest. Ron and Hermione were walking behind him, immersed in conversation. Harry and Ginny were last.

"I don't understand," Harry said, looking at Hermione. "I mean, she's smart. How can't she see that he read the book just because of her?"

Ginny smiled. "Well maybe she **does** realise it. As you said, she's smart."

After some time, Mr Weasley turned from path they were walking on to what seemed at first to be another path, but Harry realised it was an abandoned Muggle railway line. They walked along the railway line until they reached a clearing covered with grass. To Harry's astonishment, the grass was in some places bent down in what looked like a clumsy copy of crop circles.

In the middle of the meadow, a large train carriage stood on the railway line. It was surrounded by a small garden and in part covered with ivy. Theodosius Lovegood stood in the doorway, and Luna was looking out of one of the windows and waving at them as they approached her home.


	9. The Lovegoods' Files

**Author's note - **Many thanks again to all reviewers. I'm sorry about the delay.

**Chapter 9 - The Lovegoods' Files**

_When the house-elf told me it was my turn to see the Healer, I hadn't made up my mind yet. So I told the Healer, who was a scary-looking old woman, that I had come to end my pregnancy but that I was having second thoughts._

_She told me I should think it over and that, if I was having second thoughts, I probably shouldn't do it. Then she asked me to lie down on a bed and placed a small silver instrument on my stomach. The instrument had what looked liked the hands of a clock; they turned when they touched my body and stopped to point at some symbols I wasn't able to read. The old Healer looked at them and informed me that the baby was a healthy girl._

_That meant that at least part of what the Seer had told me was right._

_There was a question I just had to ask the Healer, because I remembered what the Dark Lord had looked like when I saw his true form. Red with embarrassment, I asked her: "Is she human?"_

_The Healer lowered her glasses and gave me a very strange look. I averted my eyes, wondering what she must have thought of me._

_"Yes, she's human," she said._

_There was one more thing I needed to ask._

_"If the baby's father is an evil man, is she going to be evil too?"_

_"So that's what's been worrying you?" the old woman asked. "No, no child is destined to be evil because of its parents. Evil is not in our blood. Good and evil are choices we make for ourselves." She said all this very firmly, without any hesitation._

_That was what I had believed myself, but I needed to hear it from someone else too. I paid her and quickly left her office. Aware that my time was slowly running out and that the Dark Lord might request to meet me soon, I returned home and took the things I had packed. It was time to leave for good._

_I took a room in an inn in a small village; the Leaky Cauldron or any other place in London would not do because he would look there for me first. But because of the disturbing thoughts I was having I needed to return to London that very day, so I made sure the inn had a fireplace connected to the Floo network. As soon as I left the luggage in my room, I went through the fireplace to the Main Magical Library in London._

_I needed to consult as many books about the Dark Arts as I possible to try and find a reason for the Dark Lord to want me to give birth to his child. Once I discarded the possibility of his wanting an heir, the only other explanation I could think of was that there was Dark Magic involved._

_When I arrived at the library I saw that reading these books was much more complicated than I'd imagined. It was a time of war and restrictions on books about the Dark Arts were worse than ever. Anyone who wanted to read them had to have their wand checked as a means of identification, and then sign a magical contract ensuring that the books were read for research purposes only. I couldn't do that if I wanted my whereabouts to remain secret._

_I stood there in despair, not knowing what to do, and then I met Theodosius Lovegood._

_I remembered him from Hogwarts: he was a Ravenclaw boy one year older than me. I never actually spoke to him at school, and the only time I had had any kind of contact with him had been the time when I had joined a group of friends in making fun of him, in retaliation for Ravenclaw being ahead of Slytherin in the House Cup._

_There was one thing I knew about him: he'd always had strange theories and strange connections. It was possible that he could help me._

---

Wormtail watched Arthur Weasley shake hands with the man with long dark hair, and then introduce Harry, Ron and Hermione to him. A blond girl, who must have been that Luna they were talking about on their way there, appeared behind the dark-haired man. She was probably his daughter, Wormtail thought, although she didn't resemble him very much.

He noticed that Harry Potter and his friends greeted this girl very kindly. That was important; no detail about young Potter's life was insignificant to his master, not even the fact that he kept company with these eccentric-looking people.

Wormtail watched the company enter the train carriage and close the door. He would have followed them, but he had a similar problem to the one he had with the Burrow: there was a magical circle of protection around the strange home. He thought he could recognise the spell; it was a very old and simple one, allowing only those who were invited by the owners to approach the home.

In a moment of anger and frustration, Wormtail wished he could just transform back into his human form and perform a counter-spell. He knew a Dark spell that would undoubtedly do the trick. But that would have been a very foolish thing to do. His goal was to observe as much as possible without being seen, not to attack.

He calmed down and remembered what he had learned from the other Death Eaters. These protective spells often had weak spots. It all depended on the exact words the person who performed the spell had used. For example, if the words were "may no uninvited creature walk through this door", it might be possible to enter the house in another way - not through the door, or not by walking.

Wormtail found a comfortable spot in the hollow of a tree and waited. He had plenty of time.

---

The Lovegoods led their guests to the office through what was once the corridor of the train carriage. Harry noticed that the woodwork was covered with carved ornaments, beautiful although a bit shabby. It was obvious that this carriage was once part of a luxurious train. A few of the compartments were turned into small rooms; the others were demolished to make room for the kitchen, through which they passed, and for the office.

The office was impressive. There was a large desk crowded with pieces of parchment and a printing press in it, and elves wearing green robes were running around, reading something from roles of parchment and assembling type pieces into frames.

"You have so many house-elves?" Ron asked Luna incredulously, and then glanced at Hermione with a worried expression. Harry was worried what Hermione was going to say, too. But Luna answered in a nervous whisper:

"Oh, no! They are not house-elves, and they don't belong to us. I hope they haven't heard you, because it would have offended them. They are free elves."

"Free elves?" Hermione asked, her eyes suddenly glimmering with delight.

"Yes. They were house-elves once, but they hate talking about it. They work for our magazine."

Hermione was beaming.

"Would you mind if I went and talked to them?" she asked Luna.

Luna shrugged. "I think it would be all right. They aren't working on anything very important now."

Full of enthusiasm, Hermione hurried to the nearest elf and bent down towards him to ask him something. Ron watched her with a miserable expression on his face.

"There she goes again! Just when I thought it was actually possible to talk to her!"

Ginny put her arm on Ron's shoulder to comfort him, but Harry noticed that she couldn't help twisting the corner of her lips into a small smile.

Meanwhile, Theodosius Lovegood had opened a large wooden cabinet that stood alongside one of the walls. It was full of small wooden drawers. Lovegood opened one of them; it was full of neatly stacked rolls of parchment.

"All my files are here," he said. "Take as much time as you like. You can use our office desk; we'll manage without it today. The files are organised according to the type of mystery involved."

He pointed to small metal plates on the drawers, with inscriptions such as "monsters", "government conspiracies" and "missing wizards".

"If you'd prefer them to be organised differently," Lovegood continued, "you just have to use a spell." He took a small piece of parchment and scribbled something on it. "This is the spell that will arrange them chronologically. And this," - he wrote down another spell - "will sort them out in alphabetical order."

"Thank you, Lovegood. This is brilliant," Mr Weasley said with respect. "You're really being very helpful."

Theodosius Lovegood waved his hand as if to say it was nothing. "We are at war," he said. "I'll be glad if my files can be of use in the fight against You-Know-Who."

Mr Weasley took out the drawer labelled "Missing Wizards" and sat down at the desk. Harry was going to ask if he could help in any way, but at that very moment the elf Hermione was talking to shouted:

"Hey! Do you know who this young lady is? She's Hermione Granger! You know, the one Dobby was talking about!"

All the other elves stopped whatever they had been doing; now Harry could see that there were only eight elves in the office. They had been moving around so swiftly while they were working, it looked as if there had been at least twelve of them.

Now they all gathered around Hermione with excitement, eager to shake her hand. Hermione was blushing. She seemed a little bit embarrassed by all the attention, but pleased at the same time. Ron was watching the scene incredulously, far too surprised to say anything.

Harry glanced over Arthur Weasley's shoulder to peek at the document he was reading, not sure whether he was allowed to do so, when something else on the desk caught his attention.

Two wizard photographs in silver frames were propped on the desk. One of them showed a very pretty girl wearing green robes a pointy black hat. She was laughing and turning around to pose in different ways, adjusting the hat and tilting it coquettishly to one side. She resembled Luna a lot in appearance, having the same dirty-blond hair and large eyes, but she seemed much more confident and cheerful. Her movements were graceful and flirtatious, which was something that could never be said about Luna.

The second photograph showed the same woman, but clearly after some time had passed. She looked much calmer and more serious, but very happy. She was sitting in a meadow and holding hands with a man easily recognised as Theodosius Lovegood, and a small child, maybe three years old, was standing between them.

"That's mother," Luna said. Harry hadn't noticed that she had approached the desk quietly and was now standing beside him.

"I know," Harry said. "You look a lot like her."


End file.
